


bestfriends' boyfriends

by chris (sirhc), sirhc



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst?, Boyfriends, M/M, idk what tags to add - send help
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:41:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27230674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirhc/pseuds/chris, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirhc/pseuds/sirhc
Summary: a very long slow burn saga of jungwoo asking himself why he is always the bestfriend and not the boyfriend
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Kim Jungwoo, Moon Taeil/Qian Kun
Comments: 13
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

bestfriend*

3:05 pm

im on my way

ill be having the iced shaken black tea with grapefruit ty

*bestfriend is taeil's name on jungwoo's contacts

jungwoo enters the café but sees the counter empty. no taeil. no iced shaken black tea with grapefruit. he sits on his usual spot in disappointment.

bestfriend

3:15 pm

I forgot to tell you, someone else is working today.

I gave him your order but I think he saw it late.

jungwoo pouted in disappointment as an unfamiliar person laid out his drink on the table.

doyoung, the stranger and new part-timer, noticed the customer’s disappointment.

“sir, did I get your order wrong?” doyoung asked.

jungwoo, who was just looking at taeil’s text, checked the drink given to him. he sips a little.

“no. it’s fine.” jungwoo replied.

bestfriend

3:17

when are you working again?

I wanted to tell you something

uhh I told them I won’t be working this week

let’s see each other next week

u can just call me u know

before jungwoo could reply, he noticed that the new guy was still standing in front of him. he finally looked up at his face.

“um. hi.” jungwoo said out of nowhere, he was instantly crushing on and was flustered because of the new guy. he didn’t notice he was smiling so brightly.

“hi. you haven’t paid yet, sir.” doyoung replied. doyoung was uncomfortable with jungwoo’s smile.

jungwoo realized he was staring blankly at doyoung (he read doyoung’s name on his uniform).

“yeah um sorry, I usually just pay before I leave.”

doyoung glared at him. doyoung thought this guy was getting too comfortable in this café.

and jungwoo definitely was. he has been visiting this café since it opened and has brought most of the café’s other regulars as well. he was an unofficial VIP.

“sorry, sir. im just new here. I really just want to go by the book for now.” doyoung replied.

“oh. okay. sure.” jungwoo reached out for his wallet and was about to hand his card to doyoung but doyoung interrupted.

“please pay by the counter.” doyoung gave jungwoo a sarcastic smile and walked to the back of the counter.

“well. so much for being cute.” jungwoo whispered to himself.

teayoung

4:00pm

hey. where you at right now?

im in mr. suh’s café

taeil’s not there is he?

yea :/

how’d u know?

I have some tea

im nearby ill be there soon

teaaa ? O.O

see u soon then

doyoung never experienced such a slow business in all the times he has worked park-time. but maybe it could be busier during the rush hours. he decided to organize the supplies before rush hour comes.

just as he leaves the counter, taeyong entered the café sneakily and startled jungwoo, who was too preoccupied by his delicious iced shaken tea.

“what are u doing?” jungwoo screamed at taeyong after jumping an inch from his seat.

taeyong laughed. “im here to spill the tea.”

jungwoo quickly forgot about taeyong giving him a mini heart attack and immediately leaned closer to listen.

“taeil is getting a boyfriend soon.” taeyong pretended to whisper.

“no!” jungwoo cried.

“taeil is mine!” jungwoo added.

taeyong smiled at jungwoo’s reaction. taeyong was definitely satisfied with the reaction he was getting.

“do you wanna know who?” taeyong asked jungwoo excitedly.

jungwoo stopped whining and smiled back at taeyong. “yes.”

“that’s it for the spill today.” taeyong got up and started to leave.

“no! stop!” jungwoo grabbed taeyong’s arm. taeyong tried to shake jungwoo’s grip away with little progress.

“taeyong?” doyoung had just returned to the counter from the supply room.

“hey!” taeyong waved energetically at doyoung.

“oh, you know him taeyong?” jungwoo released taeyong’s arm.

“oh, you’ll be seeing more of doyoung soon.” taeyong winked at jungwoo.

“huh?” _is he the boyfriend?_ jungwoo thought.

doyoung took a few seconds before he replied. “oh. are you close with taeil?” doyoung then realized after asking, _of course he was close to taeil since taeil texted his order to him._

“well. im only his bestfriend.” jungwoo bragged.

“ok then. noted.” doyoung nodded and started cleaning up the counter.

jungwoo definitely did not like how arrogant doyoung was but at the same time, there was something intriguing about him.

jungwoo thought it must be fun to tease doyoung and if ever him and taeil get together, it’ll be double fun teasing them together.

“anyway…” taeyong interrupted the awkward silence. “… I need to go to trigonometry class now. see you guys around.” taeyong rushed out the café.

jungwoo was about to pester doyoung with some juicy questions when he realized something.

“wait… I have trig class with taeyong.” jungwoo grabbed his half-empty iced tea and ran behind taeyong.

“taeyong! we have trig together! wait for me!”


	2. Chapter 2

"taeyong, since when did they know each other?" jungwoo whispered to his right, where taeyong was sitting.

"they met during the field trip last month." taeyong replied.

taeyong was prepared to answer all of jungwoo's questions. it has been a whole month of following this specific story.

however, jungwoo didn't ask any more questions, which definitely disappointed taeyong.

jungwoo was quiet for the rest of the period and even left early without taeyong after dismissal.

bestfriend

6:05pm

jungwoo

u can call me now if u want

where are u anyway?

i had to go home yesterday

im staying here this week

my mom got admitted to the hospital

oh.

yeah she got into a small accident

dont worry about it too much

jungwoo called taeil immediately.

"hello?" 

"i wont worry if you don't want me to." jungwoo said.

"i mean it." taeil assured him.

"okay. just call me when you come back." jungwoo wanted to ask so many questions mostly because of taeyong's gossiping but hearing taeil's voice was enough for now, he thought.

as he scrolled through his notes from class, jungwoo suddenly felt a strange feeling.

he started talking to himself. "why was taeyong babbling about a boyfriend? and didn't even mention about taeil going home?"

why should jungwoo even believe a word taeyong said today?

"you really didn't need to drop me right in front of our house." taeil said to kun who was about to leave after dropping taeil home.

"not a problem. im glad you asked me to drive you." kun replied.

"well, you're the only one i know who can drive. i really didn't have any choice." taeil smiled.

jungwoo decided to go to the library since taeil won't even be in the cafe anyway.

as he entered the library, his day instantly got better after he saw none other than dong sicheng sitting by the corner table.

jungwoo rushed to sit next to sicheng.

“hi sicheng.” jungwoo smiled.

“uh. hi jungwoo.” sicheng replied looking around as if he didn’t like to be seen with jungwoo.

“oh. is someone sitting here?” jungwoo asked.

“no. not really.”

jungwoo looked at sicheng and knew that he was probably waiting for someone else to bump into. and jungwoo might actually have an idea who it was.

“sicheng, wanna eat out after studying?” jungwoo asked.

“you haven’t even started studying.”

sicheng is one of jungwoo’s college friends. jungwoo and sicheng weren’t close enough to be bestfriends but they’ve always got along pretty well. honestly, jungwoo had a crush on sicheng before but who wouldn’t? jungwoo was quite certain the library was more crowded when sicheng was there.

it has been a few hours since jungwoo and sicheng have been studying. jungwoo could barely feel his butt cheeks from sitting for so long.

“how come you went here instead of the café?” sicheng asked.

“taeil isn’t there anyway. it’s kind of boring.” jungwoo yawned.

“so you decided to go to the library, a less boring place indeed.” sicheng remarked.

jungwoo barely absorbed what sicheng said. “aren’t you hungry yet?”

jungwoo and sicheng packed their stuff and decided to eat some fish cakes in front of the university entrance.

“sicheng?” it was jaehyun.

“it’s nice to see you too, jaehyun.” jungwoo complained.

“oh. hi jungwoo. were you guys coming from the library?” jaehyun pointed at the reviewers jungwoo was too lazy to place inside his bag.

“we were just about to go there.” jaehyun said.

“we?” sicheng blurted without thinking.

“yeah. I’m supposed to meet doyoung on the entrance. he just finished work.”

“are you guys going back after eating? I could reserve some seats for you if you want.” jaehyun added.

jungwoo didn’t really like the idea of studying together with doyoung but he thought sicheng needed this opportunity when sicheng was waiting all day for jaehyun to come to the library.

“yes! that’s so nice of you jaehyun.” jungwoo replied.

“okay, we’ll save two seats.”

sicheng slowly ate his fish cakes after jaehyun left. and then he stopped eating entirely.

“I thought we were going home.” sicheng cautiously told jungwoo.

“yeah. me too. im sorry sicheng. i didn’t know why i said that.”

“maybe we _should_ go home.” sicheng wasn’t convinced in himself either. and jungwoo felt that hesitation.

“let’s just go back to the library. who knows? maybe I’ll ace the trig exam next week.” jungwoo smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

jungwoo definitely did not think this through. he completely left out the major detail that doyoung would be there. it doesn’t help that doyoung kept asking jaehyun for help with his english assignment.

 _why does doyoung suddenly keep appearing everywhere i go? i’ve never noticed him before_. jungwoo was just as confused as sicheng, who seemed extremely bothered by doyoung.

“doyoung, did you plan on having your english class here?” jungwoo scoffed.

jaehyun was dumbfounded. he never saw jungwoo mad before. he immediately sat back up properly to his chair and stopped speaking to doyoung, who also froze in his seat.

sicheng gave jungwoo soft pats on the shoulder and whispered. “i think we had too much time in the library for today. maybe we should leave now.” jungwoo took a deep breath and nodded.

“oh. okay. sorry, jungwoo. you guys should call it a day, i guess. go home safely.” jaehyun smiled softly.

jungwoo arrived to the dorm alone. he walked with winwin halfway to their dorm but winwin decided to have some night snacks on the convenience store at the corner. jungwoo definitely wanted some too but he definitely didn’t need to since he was still full, maybe he overate fishcakes a while ago.

jungwoo entered his room quietly which his roommates were not used to. “long day?” mark was usually quiet with jungwoo who just moved in the dorm for a few weeks. jungwoo managed to give a nod. it was definitely a long day for jungwoo. he ignored the fact that he still had two homeworks undone, and went to sleep.

“hi jungwoo. thanks for coming.” johnny put his hand on top of jungwoo’s smooth black hair and jungwoo wished he washed it before coming to the opening of his friend’s café but he just arrived and only had time to leave his bags in his new room.

“this is taeil. he’s kind of my partner in opening this café.” taeil smiled at jungwoo. jungwoo instantly knew that he and taeil were going to get along. taeil’s gentle smile made him warm and it feels great to be able to meet someone warm since arriving in the cold city, besides mr. johnny of course, who was jungwoo’s mother’s friend’s son.

jungwoo and taeil shared a lot of things in common such as preferring tea over coffee and jungwoo always liked the fact that he is one of the few people who can’t stop laughing at taeil’s jokes.

“taeil, we are best friends at this point right?” jungwoo was sipping tea in front of taeil during his break.

“yeah. i guess so.” taeil jokingly hesitated answering.

“jungwoo?” it was lucas, his other roommate. jungwoo was still half-asleep with his eyes closed.

“maybe we shouldn’t wake him up.” mark added.

“it’ll be a waste if the tea gets too cold.” jungwoo opened his eyes at the word _tea_.

“oh. you’re awake. great. we were leaving. someone dropped off hot tea for you a while ago.” lucas pointed at the paper cup on top of jungwoo’s desk.

“do you know who it was?” jungwoo scratched his eyes and slowly got up.

lucas looked at mark who was probably the one who received it.

“uhh… i don’t know him.” mark replied.

“oh shit. maybe it’s poisoned.” lucas grabbed the cup and walked towards the trash.

“WOAH WOAH WOAH” mark stopped him.

“uh.. i think maybe it was the guy from the café right outside the west gate?” mark said as he carefully grabbed the cup of tea from lucas.

“okay. you could’ve just said so. no need to overreact, mark.” lucas scratched his head.

“oh i know him. thanks mark.” jungwoo was now fully awake and ready to drink a cup of unpoisoned tea.

he was extremely excited to taste it. the smell has already spread out to the room when mark and lucas caused a fuss about it. jungwoo’s first sip was healing. he looked at his clock and spat out the tea.

“was it actually poison?” mark looked at jungwoo wide-eyed. he was about to leave the room, the door halfway open.

“no way!” lucas was more amazed than concerned.

“uh no. sorry. the tea is fine. i just. i woke up too late.” jungwoo rushed to the bathroom to change. he still had submissions to do before 9 am. and it was already 8:30 am.

lucas and mark quietly exited the room.

“you think we should’ve woken him earlier?” mark asked lucas.

“i mean. we were awake since 4am. but we had other business.” lucas smirked.

mark rolled his eyes and walked ahead.

“hey.” mark looked to the side where the voice came from. it was the guy who brought the tea.

“oh thank goodness it’s you.”

“who is he?” lucas asked.

“you were in the bathroom. he gave the tea for jungwoo.” mark was exhilarated and relieved that he found the person who could possibly have poisoned jungwoo.

“hi.” doyoung waved. lucas waved back smiling with confusion in his face.

“don’t worry, we gave the tea to jungwoo before it got cold. aaand.. nice to bumping into you but we should get going.” mark said.

“okay. thanks.” doyoung watched mark and lucas walk away.

“i thought you said it was the guy from the café?” lucas was having a hard time catching up to mark who was now brisk walking to class.

“well, he is.” mark replied.

“no. he’s not. wasn’t the guy in the café blonde and looked completely different?” lucas stopped which made mark stop too.

“i honestly don’t know. i only went to that café for the first time yesterday and that guy was there.” mark replied.


	4. Chapter 4

jungwoo was standing still in the middle of the road, his body was curled up. he closed his eyes. he never imagined he would die because he was running late to his 9am class.

but he didn’t die.

the car has stopped just a few inches from jungwoo, or maybe a few feet. a head peeped through the passenger seat window. “jungwoo! what are you doing?” taeil laughed. “maybe you honked too soon.” taeil said to the other person inside the car.

“you’re late aren’t you?” there was still a bit of laughter in taeil’s voice which jungwoo found annoying when jungwoo was terrified for his life just a few seconds ago. but he decided to hop on since his legs were still shaking from the near death experience.

jungwoo was absolutely out of it since he didn’t even bother to think about who was in the driver’s seat. “hi. so where are we going?” the driver smiled at jungwoo.

jungwoo was oriented on the way to his class. the guy driving was qian kun. taeil said that kun offered to drive him to the hospital and to his home. he didn’t mention anything else about their relationship but jungwoo was sure kun was the boyfriend taeyong was talking about.

taeil and kun talked a bit more about how they met each other in the field trip. as much as jungwoo wanted to listen, his cramming focus kept his mind preoccupied with the homework. taeil and kun soon noticed jungwoo’s preoccupied state so they limited their stories to short casual ones, jungwoo could tell.

“we’re here.” kun told jungwoo whose head was still buried in his notebooks.

jungwoo immediately packed up and got off. “thank you for the ride, kun.”

“no problem.”

“and thank you for the tea, taeil.” jungwoo added.

“uh… sure?”

jungwoo ran away quickly after taeil responded.

“what tea?” kun asked.

“i’m not sure. that was pretty random to thank me for tea today. he must miss the tea i make him all the time.” taeil replied.

**kun**

**9:30**

doyoung, we just got back

have u eaten breakfast yet?

was planning on brunch

great let’s get brunch together

okay

“are you guys doing fine? must have been a long ride.” doyoung arrived at the restaurant last.

“oh yeah. i'm super tired.” taeil was too exhausted to even start eating. kun, on the other hand, was overwhelmed by hunger, and almost finished half of his plate.

“how was the café?” kun asked as he swallowed a spoonful of rice.

“it was okay.” doyoung paused. “i did meet jungwoo.” he added.

“how was it?” taeil seemed to recover from exhaustion when he heard jungwoo’s name.

“it was fine i guess. i think maybe i was too rude. and i think he hates me.” doyoung was looking at taeil, trying to see his reaction. but taeil has just finally regained his strength to eat and was too busy doing so. but to doyoung’s surprise, kun gave his feedback on the matter.

“i think jungwoo’s a bit shaken right now.” kun nudged taeil to which taeil nodded in agreement.

“yeah. i don’t know what’s up with him but a while ago he was cramming… and that’s weird.” taeil realized as he spoke.

“i’m flattered that you find my face mesmerizing but could you stop staring at me?” jungwoo whispered to taeyong.

“why are you late?”

“why is your homework shit?

“who are you and what have you done to jungwoo?” taeyong looked at jungwoo seriously and a bit terrified.

“i’m late sometimes. so what?” jungwoo was visibly confused at taeyong’s reaction but he also realized that it was, indeed, odd.

“well, this is a new side of you i’ve never seen i guess.” taeyong decided to give up on questioning jungwoo.

“you’re finally showing your humanity.” taeyong added jokingly.

“by the way, do you have a class with sicheng after this?” taeyong just couldn’t keep quiet in class.

“i think so.” jungwoo whispered discreetly, sensing the professor already suspicious of their conversation.

taeyong seemed to notice and decided to write his message on paper.

_i saw sicheng last night drunk. and i accidentally found out he has a crush on jaehyun._

jungwoo just stared at the paper blankly and not knowing what to say, decided to ignore taeyong for the rest of the class.

“you don’t seem too shocked about it.” taeyong noted. he and jungwoo were now on their way for brunch.

“have you known about it?” taeyong was visibly shocked that jungwoo knew something that he didn’t.

“i had my guess.” jungwoo smiled knowing how annoyed taeyong would be.

“you really are showing your true colors these days, jungwoo. but are you okay?”

“me?”

“yeah, you. didn’t you have a crush on sicheng?” taeyong might have said it louder than he should’ve and jungwoo quickly covered taeyong’s mouth with his palm.

“i did. but that was a long time ago okay. it’s embarrassing to talk about now.” jungwoo replied.

“what is embarrassing to talk about?” taeil said behind jungwoo and taeyong.

“hey! taeil you’re back.” taeyong hugged taeil briefly. “it’s been boring just hanging out with jungwoo all the time. why don’t you join us for brunch?”

“actually i just finished brunch with them.” taeil pointed to the guys behind him. it was doyoung and kun waving softly to them.

“would you like to get some drinks later at the café instead?” taeil added.

“your treat for leaving us without saying anything?” taeyong replied.

“sure. see you later.” taeil smiled and left.


	5. Chapter 5

“hey, jungwoo. taeyong’s here for you.” mark shouted from the bathroom door where jungwoo was still struggling diarrhea from the spoiled lunch he ate with taeyong.

“how is he fine right now?” jungwoo cried.

mark went to the door to relay the message but couldn’t stop himself to let out a laugh. fortunately, taeyong heard jungwoo and entered their room.

“jungwoo, i brought you some meds i took a while ago. will you be able to come to the café later?” taeyong said softly through the door.

“depends.” jungwoo replied.

jungwoo arrived at the café, instantly wishing he should’ve taken a raincheck. his stomach was still a bit unstable and he felt dehydrated. the meds taeyong gave him definitely helped him not to defecate every five minutes but it was definitely not over. he slowly walks toward the table where taeyong, kun, taeil and doyoung were sitting.

“are you okay?” taeil asked jungwoo as he sat down cautiously.

“oh jungwoo’s having a little—” 

“i’m fine.” jungwoo stopped taeyong from saying too much information.

“i just really need some tea right now.” jungwoo added. taeil was instantly relieved, knowing jungwoo definitely was a little odd when he gets deprived of some tea.

“i’ll order you some. what flavor do you want?” taeil offered.

“im craving some hot black tea right now. thank you.” jungwoo smiled. 

as taeil left the table, it became more quiet. well, it did get quieter when jungwoo arrived.

“so what have you guys talked about. sorry again for being late.” jungwoo asked softly.

“well, kun kept bragging some of his overseas travelling.” taeyong said jokingly. he seemed to get along with kun quite well. and kun was returning the same friendly smile. 

“but before that, we were talking about first impressions.” it was the first time doyoung talked. he sipped his drink with a smirk. 

“oh yeah. you should have heard what they thought about me. i can’t believe they were so far off!” taeyong exclaimed.

jungwoo already knew what their first impression of taeyong was. but he listened absent-mindedly to taeyong anyway since he was still too tired to talk.

when taeil finally returned with jungwoo’s drink they began to talk more casually about school, about how kun, taeil, and doyoung met and got close at the field trip. 

jungwoo just had a few reactions and told some stories about his classes last semester with the horror professor that he advised everyone to never enroll into. doyoung shortly mentioned he

had the same professor too. taeyong took note of the class and the professor but jungwoo knew he was going to forget it anyway. 

jungwoo was honestly not fully present in the moment. he couldn’t process eveyone’s stories so he distracted himself by just observing them. kun, who jungwoo has never looked at properly, looked very graceful even when he’s just sitting there and talking. taeyong was, unsurprisingly, full of energy and always asking the most questions. doyoung, on the other hand was quiet. he did talk but overall, he was simply… quiet. 

and just like that, time passed quite quickly but jungwoo was still drained so when kun offered to drive them to their dormitories just a few blocks away, he couldn’t refuse. 

  
**winwin**  
**11pm**

i asked out jaehyun.

and he said yes.

congrats on the english tutor, sicheng.

wait

no

i mean i asked him out on a date

O.O

sicheng, you know i had a crush on you before right

sorry, jungwoo

you don’t still like me do you?

no

by the way, i still just want to keep this on the down low

so if you meet doyoung, can you tell him not to spread what he saw

doyoung?

yeah. he kinda saw us... making out last night

it was kinda awkward

oof

i’ll tell him but i don’t really have his number

but i’ll tell him if we meet

okay. thanks. goodnight, jungwoo.

hahaha thanks a lot goodnight, sicheng.

jungwoo couldn’t believe sicheng and jaehyun were dating... and even making out. it was just too good to be true. but he was glad. it was just a bit shocking to hear jaehyun say yes because he just never did. and did he like sicheng? jungwoo had no idea.

 _doyoung,_ jungwoo thought. he must have been so quiet because of it. jungwoo didn’t really think doyoung liked jaehyun that way, he was just annoyed at how he was getting too close to jaehyun in the library in front of winwin

doyoung was the last one to be driven home by kun.

“thanks, kun.” 

“umm. doyoung.”

“yes?”

“you were so quiet when jungwoo arrived.” kun said. “is… something going on?”

doyoung stared at kun and blinked. “i don’t think he likes me very much.”

“but you like him.” kun said casually and doyoung almost panicked at how kun could possibly know his small crush on jungwoo but… _maybe he was just talking about liking jungwoo as a person_ , doyoung thought.

“i just think… he hates me.” _jungwoo likes someone else,_ he thought.

“not to offend you or anything, but since when did you care if someone hates you?”

“well this time, it’s because i don’t really know why he hates me.” 

“you could always just ask him.” 

“i don’t think we’re close enough for me to ask something like that.” doyoung brushed off kun’s suggestion. and kun looked at him suspiciously.

“what are you talking about?” kun asked. kun never saw doyoung as the social overthinker.

“uh, nothing. it’s getting late. you should probably drive home. thanks, kun.”

kun looked at his watch. “oh, you’re right. i’ll be off then.” 

doyoung waved through the closing window of kun’s car.

doyoung couldn’t sleep that night. he kept switching sides thinking about jungwoo being so timid in the café. _maybe jungwoo found out about winwin and jaehyun too_. he didn’t want to think about it but he thought it may have been the reason why jungwoo was not feeling well a while ago.   
doyoung wanted to know jungwoo more and get closer to him but it felt like maybe jungwoo needed some time alone. he didn’t even mention the tea doyoung gave him that morning.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short little chapter to prep for mr. johnny's birthday :)

“hey jungwoo.” taeil grabbed one plastic cup.

“i’m craving some hot green tea today.” jungwoo quickly said before taeil could pour the cold brew.

“oh. the weather’s getting to you, huh?” taeil smiled as he grabbed a teacup.

“you’re getting off soon right?”

“yes. the next shift will be here soon. he’s kind of late actually.” and as if on cue, kun entered the café wearing a light pastel green long sleeves, same as what taeil wore.

“well, there’s the next shift” taeil told jungwoo while smiling at kun, who smiled back.

“kun is working here too?” jungwoo was surprised to see kun doing part time job because from what he processed during their evening hang-out was that kun was doing better than good financially.

“well, i needed more time to get to know the person i want to become my boyfriend, don’t i?”

jungwoo was shocked at kun being so blunt.

taeil simply rolled his eyes as he carefully removed his apron and then proceeded to sit with jungwoo.

jungwoo definitely noticed how he got less and less time with taeil but he was really happy seeing taeil having so much fun with kun even though taeil shows the opposite.

“why is he so extra? it’s not like you’ll reject him if he asks you out.” jungwoo laughed and taeil immediately froze.

“wait. you’re not going to date him? i know we’ve never talked about this but i thought it was pretty obvious you liked him too.” jungwoo got more concerned.

“i don’t really have time to date. he actually asked me out already… but i told him i needed to think about it.”

“oh. well, anyway. i just realized _Mister Johnny Suh’s_ birthday is near. wasn’t he supposed to come back to korea this year?”

“why do you keep calling him that?” taeil laughed.

“i like calling him that.” jungwoo smiled.

“well, i thought he was coming back last month from chicago but I guess he decided to stay longer. I haven’t really heard from him recently.” taeil tried to recall the last time he had a call with johnny.

“oh johnny is coming to korea right before his birthday.” taeyong was standing behind jungwoo.

“when did you get here?” jungwoo asked.

“just now. and johnny is planning to have a small late night party in the café. he said he was inviting some guests from other countries.” taeyong sat down, naturally joining the conversation.

“that’ll be fun.” taeil was impressed.

“hey jungwoo, im glad i ran into you here.” taeyong changed the subject.

“why? did you want to tell me something?”

“dongheon wanted me to remind you that you’re manning the department booth tomorrow morning.”

“oh right. i don’t really get the whole college open house. i didn’t even know those existed.”

“you didn’t go to uni open house? it’s a great way to know which university you really want to go to. you know, the principles of the university, the campus, the people.”

“well, i guess so. then, i should probably head home in a while. i need to be super early tomorrow.” jungwoo sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 02/05/2021 happy birthday baby jisung :3
> 
> also btw my bias is actually taeil  
> here is a sungchan, taeil, jungwoo clip for you: https://twitter.com/ekfxodlf/status/1357659459263234050/video/1


	7. Chapter 7

it was 7:00am and jungwoo arrived at the booth at 6:30am. his partner hasn’t arrived yet which made jungwoo setup everything by himself. he was still pretty tired, sleeping late the night before reviewing the information about their department.

jungwoo was surprised that even before 7:00am, high school students have already began arriving though they haven’t reached their booth, which was at the end of the hall.

“hey. sicheng isn’t here yet?” taeyong was one of the people who was going to guide students around the campus. it’s kind of an unspoken rule that the most good looking and charismatic ones are assigned as the guides to attract more students.

“no. i should probably call him, right?” jungwoo didn’t want to call sicheng on the phone but at the same time, he doesn’t want to be alone the whole morning.

“he’s probably just a little late. i’ll text him for you.” taeyong said as he was dragged away from the booth by another guide.

it has been almost thirty minutes already and sicheng still hasn’t arrived, though he has finally texted jungwoo saying he woke up late and will be arriving soon. jungwoo has now oriented around two groups of high schoolers about their department. even though, it was tiring jungwoo thought he was actually doing better than he expected.

“jungwoo?” it was doyoung.

“you know him, doyoung?” a younger guy with brown hair was standing next to doyoung with their arms linked.

“hi. i’m jungwoo of the architecture department.” jungwoo waved at the younger one.

“he’s a friend.” doyoung finally answered. jungwoo was slightly surprised to hear doyoung call him a friend but well technically, jungwoo thought, they were friends right?

“oooooh. i’m haechan. you’re so handsome jungwoo.” haechan gave jungwoo two thumbs up to which doyoung gave a small laugh.

jungwoo smiled at the compliment. jungwoo felt a little awkward but at the same time comfortable with haechan. jungwoo instantly knew he was a friendly energy bubble.

“would you like me to orient about our department? will it be okay if we wait for a few more to come?” jungwoo said, he didn’t want to waste a whole presentation on just one student.

“oh, sure… chenle, renjun!” haechan immediately called out to two other guys who were still looking around at the previous booths.

the blonde haired guy ran to haechan while the pink-haired guy walked slowly, mumbling on his way.

by the time they both arrived, haechan immediately did the introductions for jungwoo.

“so this is jungwoo from architecture, he’s doyoung’s f-f-friend.”

“jungwoo, this is chenle and renjun, my korean-fluent Chinese friends.”

“nice to meet you. i’m actually pretty interested in architecture.” renjun said with an adorable smile. jungwoo wanted to put him in his pocket.

jungwoo started presenting to them and right after he finished, haechan, chenle, and renjun clapped together.

jungwoo looked at them, embarrassed and amused. “why are you guys like this? you’re embarrassing me.” jungwoo laughs.

“ah, jungwoo. that was really good. i want to go to your department even though i don’t even want to be in architecture.” haechan said teasingly.

“and i really wanna go here now.” renjun said.

“it was really interesting, right doyoung?” chenle added.

jungwoo has completely forgotten doyoung was there.

“yeah. it was a good presentation, jungwoo.” doyoung said. he smiled at jungwoo and jungwoo was smiling back for a few seconds. maybe more? he didn’t count.

“jungwoo.” it was sicheng.

“oh. you’re here.” jungwoo made room for sicheng to enter the booth.

“did you just finish presenting to them?” sicheng asked.

“yes. that was my fifth this morning.” jungwoo complained.

“i’m really sorry.” sicheng then noticed doyoung at the back.

“why… don’t you… take a break and let me man the booth alone for a while.” sicheng suggested.

“what?” jungwoo was confused.

“that’s a great idea.” haechan butted in the conversation.

“come with us, jungwoo. we were going to grab something to eat before going to other booths.” he added.

“you should go. i’ll be fine.” sicheng assured jungwoo.

jungwoo then leaned closer to sicheng and gave him a whisper. “i forgot my wallet.”

sicheng then immediately got a few bills from his pocket and discretely put it into jungwoo’s hands.

“thank me, later.” sicheng smiled.

honestly, jungwoo had no idea why he left the booth. maybe he was hungry? what was he thinking? he and doyoung might be possibly friends but what were they going to talk about. last time they had some drinks together, they barely said a word to each other. and what was doyoung doing? was he okay with all of this?

both jungwoo and doyoung were silent as the three guys

“why are you both so quiet? what kind of friends are you?” haechan asked as he was eating his burger.

“well…more of friends of friends, actually.” jungwoo replied.

chenle, renjun, and haechan looked at each other, then at doyoung.

“well, that’s…awkward.” renjun commented.

“my bad, i thought you were pretty close.” haechan apologized.

“no worries. i mean it’s nice to hang out with you all. i mean i can get closer with doyoung too since we probably would meet more often in the future anyway.” jungwoo said. he didn’t want to spoil the mood.

“da’s a gurd wuy to pur it! (that’s a good way to put it!)” chenle still had food in his mouth.

“so you should talk more.” renjun suggested.

“doyoung. why are you not saying anything?” haechan asked as doyoung was about to take another bite of his burger.

doyoung lowered his burger. “jungwoo hates me.” he said blankly and immediately took a bite afterwards.

“yah! what are you talking about? you’re the one who told us he was your friend!” haechan slams his burger on the plate.

jungwoo was also dumbfounded. has doyoung thought jungwoo hated him all this time? jungwoo thought well maybe he did hate doyoung when they first met at the café. he hated doyoung’s attitude. but he thought they were pretty neutral. jungwoo drowned in his thoughts until he noticed renjun and chenle staring at him, waiting for a reaction.

jungwoo shook his head aggresively. “i don’t hate him!”

“well, i thought you did.” doyoung muttered.

“why?”

“i don’t know.”

jungwoo laughed. “what the hell, doyoung.”

“just start by ask him anything, doyoung.” haechan was getting annoyed at how doyoung was clearly misunderstanding jungwoo.

doyoung then thought for a while. there were so many questions he wanted to ask.

“are you okay with sicheng now?” doyoung didn’t know why he went with _that_ question.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so... i wasn't able to upload this on johnny's birthday but... belated happy birthday johnny!

“are you okay with sicheng now?”

“what?” jungwoo asked. he thought hard if there was a problem with sicheng and him?

“i don’t see you with him that much anymore.”

“we don’t really hang out that much really. and he’s going out with jaehyun now.”

“exactly.”

“exactly what?” jungwoo was genuinely confused.

“i heard you had a crush on sicheng.” doyoung blurted.

haechan, chenle, and renjun were all shocked by the sudden tmi.

“wait. how’d you know that?”

“so you do have a crush on that guy in the booth!” haechan was enjoying the drama.

“well, i used to… in freshmen year.” jungwoo was surprised at how much he’s shared with this random group of guys in such a short time.

“what about you?” jungwoo asked doyoung.

“what?”

“are you okay with jaehyun?” jungwoo smiled. 

“yes.”

“that’s a really short answer.”

“we are okay. i’m okay… did you think i had a crush on jaehyun?” doyoung finally realized what was happening. the misunderstanding is getting cleared up. he looked at jungwoo. he was smiling like an idiot. 

“why were you so quiet that night then?” doyoung felt betrayed by his own thoughts.

“did you think i was moping about sicheng? oh, you don’t even want to know why i was bummed that night.” jungwoo laughed.

“i think you need to clear it up.” haechan said as he noticed doyoung’s aggravated face.

“it’s not something i could say right now. we’re eating.” jungwoo replied.

“did you perhaps… have diarrhea?” renjun was too smart. jungwoo looked at renjun and everyone immediately knew that renjun was right.

they tried not to laugh but doyoung was the first one to lose it. 

jungwoo rolled his eyes. “okay. okay. i feel like i’ve shared too much of myself with you guys. i’m finished eating and i’m heading back to the booth. have fun for the rest of the day.” 

“we’re sorry, jungwoo.” haechan has managed to stop laughing.

“we had a good time hanging out with you.” renjun said.

“well, see you around. hope to see you next year, renjun. i actually need to get back now.” 

a few days has passed. jungwoo, taeil, and taeyong were setting up the café for johnny’s birthday. 

“who do you think johnny’s guests are? i’m slightly excited.” jungwoo liked meeting people and always thought johnny had a lot of interesting friends.

“who’s your plus one, jungwoo?” taeyong decided to change the topic.

“i don’t have one…”

“why not?”

“you’re not supposed to bring a plus one all the time.”

“i thought that was common sense?” taeyong looked at taeil for a reaction.

taeil nodded his head. “i invited kun.” 

“well, i’m actually glad for you taeil but i didn’t have anyone to invite last minute. taeyong is already invited. and he invited sicheng as a plus one… and my roommates… let’s just say they’re more of a plus two.”

“could i invite doyoung then? as your plus one?” taeyong asked.

“what? are you two close?” 

“yeah.”

“okay. you can invite him as my plus one.” 

“great!” taeyong grabbed his phone and quickly called doyoung.

“you can come right?... okay… great… see you.” taeyong ended the call.

“hey!” johnny walked in along with two other guys.

“this is yuta and ten.” the two guys waved.

“great to see you guys!” taeyong went to hug them both.

apparently, taeyong knew yuta and ten when he visited johnny in japan. and something tells jungwoo that taeyong had a crush on at least one of them.

“wow. i feel left out.” sicheng has arrived and, despite being invited as taeyong’s plus one, was totally ignored.

“you can just hang out with me.” jungwoo laughed.

“sicheng, i heard you and jaehyun are dating now?” typical johnny entertaining his guests.

“we really shouldn’t have gotten caught by taeyong. how does even johnny know?” 

“it’s okay sicheng. have more confidence.” jungwoo handed him a drink.

“thanks.” 

“jungwoo.” it was the guy named yuta. 

“hi.” 

“you don’t remember me?” yuta asked. 

“umm…” it was very possible that jungwoo did meet yuta before and forgot about it. but he couldn’t believe it because he surely would have remembered someone as good-looking as yuta.

“that’s okay. we met when i went to visit johnny here in korea for a few days.” yuta smiled. jungwoo immediately remembered as yuta spoke.

“you’re that Japanese guy who spoke fluent Korean!”

yuta laughed. “that’s right. you couldn’t stop getting amused whenever i spoke.” 

“sorry for not remembering.”

“anyway, who is your friend here?” yuta was referring to sicheng.

“this is sicheng.”

“hi.” sicheng waved.

“hello. im yuta.”

doyoung arrived at the party later than when he intended to. he was a bit nervous and couldn’t choose which pair of shoes to wear. for some reason being jungwoo’s plus one gave him great pressure to look good. he didn’t want to embarrass jungwoo. 

“doyoung. you made it! i’ll introduce you to johnny.” taeyong grabbed doyoung to johnny before doyoung could spot where jungwoo was. although, doyoung did see sicheng with two other guys.

“doyoung’s here?” sicheng spotted doyoung talking to johnny with taeyong.  
jungwoo looked behind yuta who was standing in the view. “yup. he’s my plus one.”

yuta stepped to the side. now they were all facing towards doyoung. “you should go greet him then. why don’t you introduce me to him?”

jungwoo stood up as if on command and gestured yuta to come with him. sicheng decided to just stay and sit for a while.

“speaking of the devil.” johnny said as jungwoo appeared to join their conversation.

“hi doyoung.” jungwoo smiled. 

“hi.” 

“i wanted to introduce you to yuta. he’s from japan but he’s really fluent in korean.” jungwoo said enthusiastically.

yuta laughed at jungwoo as he offered doyoung a handshake.

“so I guess you do remember him.” johnny said.

“it took him a little time.” yuta replied.

“how long have you studied korean?” doyoung asked.

“maybe four years now? johnny really helped.” yuta replied.

then there was a noise of a glass breaking.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHNNY!” ten was screaming.

“he can’t be drunk already…” johnny was astounded.

“sorry guys, i have to control my guest. taeyong, could you help me?”

“sure.”

and just like that, yuta, doyoung, and jungwoo were left alone.

“i really like your shoes, doyoung.” jungwoo tried to resolve the awkward mood but maybe he just worsened it.

doyoung lips formed a small smile at the compliment, and mostly because he remembered how long it took him to decide to wear those shoes.

“so, how long have you known each other?” yuta asked.

“three weeks.” doyoung answered before jungwoo could even think.

“oh.” yuta’s face lit up as if he realized something. and he did.

“i think sicheng needs some company right now, jungwoo.”

“right… i’ll”

“i’ll keep him occupied. maybe get to know him more. he’s really cute isn’t he?”

“he’s taken, yuta.”

“oh no. it’s pretty obvious. don’t worry i won’t steal him.” jungwoo didn’t feel reassured. he remembered how yuta was pretty flirty the last time they met. but yuta was already on his way.

“old friend?” doyoung asked.

“technically? i met him once before a few years back.” jungwoo replied.

“he’s really cool.”

“definitely.” jungwoo agreed.

“jungwoo, i’m really sorry for what happened last time. i didn’t mean to…” doyoung’s serious expression started to fade. “…talk about you pooping.” doyung tried to hold his laughter.

“hey! if you’re really sorry, you shouldn’t even talk about it again.” he’s usually not the type to get embarrassed easily but coming from doyoung, jungwoo felt genuinely embarrassed. jungwoo was staring at the floor in embarrassment.

“i’m sorry.” doyoung put his hand on jungwoo’s shoulder.

“see, this is why i think you hate me.”

“what?” jungwoo looked up at doyoung.

“i just think… you look more comfortable and laid back when you’re with others. it feels like you’re putting up a wall when i talk to you.” doyoung sounded like he was complaining.

“that’s because…”

“what?”

“i think… i like you?”

doyoung paused. he didn’t expect to hear that. he thought for a second if did jungwoo _like_ like him? but he thought it was probably just jungwoo liking him as a person. “that doesn’t make any sense.” he said.

“it does actually.” 

“well… if you like me, then great. as long as you’re telling me the truth. maybe i’m just overthinking things.” doyoung said.

“no. doyoung. i mean that i find you attractive. and i _like_ you.” jungwoo couldn’t believe what was coming out of his mouth. what made him that honest? since when did he start liking doyoung? and for some reason, jungwoo was thinking that maybe doyoung liked him back.

“um. how did we get into this conversation?” doyoung said. his eyes started avoiding jungwoo’s. 

jungwoo felt crushed. _mayday. mayday. he doesn’t like you back_. jungwoo’s mind was a mess. what just happened? that wasn’t the scenario jungwoo had in his mind. he was torn. _did i just get rejected?_

“excuse me.” jungwoo walked away from doyoung and headed to the door.

“you’re leaving already?” taeil stopped jungwoo.

“i just… i need to go. please.” jungwoo begged. 

“okay. call me when you get home.” taeil opened the door for jungwoo. and jungwoo started running.


	9. Chapter 9

"what happened?" taeil sneaked behind doyoung who was mindlessly getting too many desserts.

"doyoung... hey." taeil grabbed the fifth cupcake doyoung was about to put on his plate.

"you know... i like him right?" doyoung told taeil.

"yes. i'm glad you do."

"but i have a _small_ crush on him, like a small happy crush."

"i get it." taeil nodded.

"i never thought _that_ far, you know?" doyoung was just asking for continuous reassurance from taeil.

"yeah. of course."

"is... he always like that? he's just suddenly attracted to some random guy who he didn't even talk to majority of the time."

"no!"

"then... he actually... " doyoung couldn't really finish his sentence.

"jungwoo's never been that honest and impulsive."

"i don't know what to say." 

"no, no. it's okay. you were shocked. you both need some time to think." taeil pat doyoung's shoulder.

\---

doyoung stayed at the party for a while but not that long. the party was okay. doyoung met new people who were really good and friendly, people with who he could be friends. he was expecting to be stuck with taeyong the whole time since jungwoo left, but taeyong went back and forth, taking care of ten, johnny's thai friend.

for some reason, doyoung did not want to go home yet even when it was already 2 a.m. he had a sudden urge to watch the sunrise. so he decided to walk to the highest point he knows in their campus where you can overlook a part of the city.

he's been there before. he's been there countless times. he would go there to clear his mind, to just rest from all the academic load. it was the first time it felt more personal. he thought about jungwoo. yes. he liked jungwoo. he wanted to be close with him... as a friend. doyoung was sure he wanted them to be more than frinds eventually but he was scared to co that far thatt fast. he thought about what he could do after what just happened--after jungwoo... _confessed?_

\---

jungwoo woke up way too early. he was too distressed after leaving the party and decided to sleep on it. he was hoping maybe it'll all go away when he wakes up, pretend it was a bad dram. but nothing changed. on the bright side, jungwoo didn't think doyoung hated him. but jungwoo might not have the courage to speak to doyoung for a while. jungwoo desperately wanted to talk to someone about it. maybe ask for advice? but all his friends must have been still asleep from last night's party.

"hey. you're up early." it was mark, walking out of their bathroom, dressed casually.

"you too." jungwoo replied.

"i usually go out early on saturdays if i can. it's kind of like a routine i do, like, self-love. i just hang out by myself at the convenience store."

"are you going with lucas?"

"nah. i told you. it's _me_ time. i need some space from my boyfriend too. but if you want to come, it's fine." mark said.

"really."

"sure. why not? but... you'll go like that?" mark pointed out how jungwoo was still wearing his party outfit from last night.

"i'll change." jungwoo quickly jumped off his bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize for this chapter being so short :(
> 
> BUT have you all seen the dowoo photoshoot posted in their ig acct. bless.

**Author's Note:**

> first nct fic  
> nctzens, go wild in the comments i wanna see what u think lmao


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